Blank Canvas
by Crystal
Summary: Dick Grayson gets a chance to see how his life affects those around him. NOW COMPLETE!!! Read and Review, PLEASE!!!
1. Prologue: Decisions

"Blank Canvas"

"Blank Canvas"

Summary: Dick Grayson gets a change to see what life would have been like had he made certain other decisions.

Timeframe: The Following things have happened:

~ Dick Grayson has left Gotham and moved to Bludhaven, becoming Nightwing.

~ Jason Bard has already been Robin and died.

~ Tim Drake has already been Robin and been kidnapped by the Joker, going through the events of "Return of the Joker" approximately a year and some change ago.

~ Barbara Gordon, after finding Tim Drake, was shot by the Joker… shoot… that doesn't match with chronology, does it. Oh well. She was shot by the Joker. You can imagine how in your own mind. That was about, oh, six months ago. She is just now thinking about becoming Oracle.

~ Alfred quit because he finally got sick of Bruce.

~ Bruce…. He's Bruce. Lots of angst and self pity after the Tim and Barbara things.

Are we all up to date? Okay… Let's begin.

DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine…. But I'm borrowing them for a bit

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The last thing Dick Grayson saw was the other car jump the guard rail and head straight toward him.

The last thing he heard was a crunch. But of the car, or of his bones? He didn't know which.

Dick waited for the pain, but it never came.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After what seemed like mere minutes, Dick woke up. He stood to find himself no longer in his car, or on the street, but in a hospital room. He looked around, disoriented, and saw a body lying on a bed, hooked up to repirators and such.

"Is that the other driver?" He though aloud as he walked toward the body. "No… that face. It's banged up bad, but I know that face. That's…"

"You," a voice said from behind him. "That's you, Dick."

He turned around and saw a veiled figure, dressed in white. "Am I….?"

"Dead?" He saw a smile emerge from under the veil. _That smile looks familiar,_ he thought, but he couldn't recognize the face. "No, not yet, but you're struggling," she informed him as she walked past him. She touched his face and brushed a hair off his forehead. "You're a fighter. You always have been, but part of you wants to give up."

He gazed at the figure in wonder. "Who are you? How do you know so much about me?"

"I know you because I have been with you. I guess you could call me your guardian angel, if you want something precise, although I am much more than that."

Dick looked at his scarred body on the bed. "Will I die?"

"Yes," the figure answered simply. "Everyone does."

He looked at her. "Now? Will I die now?"

"That is up to you."

"How?"

"Your body is in a coma, waiting for your spirit to reconcile itself. Like I said, you are a fighter. You do not give up. You never have. It is not in your nature. Yet now, part of you wants to stop the fight. It sees no reason for going on. Why is this? What makes you feel this way?"

He sat down on the bed. "I wonder if what I do matters anymore. For every criminal I put behind bars, it seems like five more spring up in their place."

The figure sat down next to him. "And this makes you want to stop fighting?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed as he rose again and walked across the room. "What good am I doing? What good have I ever done?"

From the bed, the figure spoke. "Would you really like to know?"

Dick looked over to her. "Huh?"

"If you want, I can show you. Key moments in your life. Important decisions. I can show you what would have happened had you made different choices; strayed different paths. Do you want to see?"

Dick thought for a moment. "Yes."

She rose and walked ominously toward him. "This is **not** censored. You will see the good and the bad of your impacts. Maybe some people will have been better off if you had made different choices. You must be prepared to weigh the effects of your decisions carefully. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," he said without a second thought.

She smiled again. "The fighter."

"Where do we start?" he asked anxiously.

"Work back," the figure said walking away. "What was the last decision you made that impacted others? Others you care for? Your last regret maybe."

Dick thought and winced as a memory came to him. "Tim."

"Tim Drake… the boy Robin. Tell me about it."

He gave the figure a cockeyed look. "I thought you knew all."

"I do. I want to hear you tell it. Tim…"

"I didn't go," Dick said softly. "I didn't get there fast enough. Bruce had sent me all over the world looking for Tim when the Joker kidnapped him. But I didn't get back to Gotham fast enough. I couldn't be there when Bruce and Barbara found him."

The figure nodded. "And you think things would have been different if you had been there?"

"Yes," Dick said.

"Fine," the figure said, and Dick blinked. 


	2. 1: If Only I Had Been There

Chapter 1: "If Only I Had Been There"

Chapter 1: "If Only I Had Been There"

Dick Grayson blinked and he was now in what he recognized as Wayne Manor. He looked around as the figure led him into one of the bedrooms. There, he saw, sat Tim Drake. 

Tim's face and hands were ashen and green hair still sprouted along with his own jet black coloring. He lay, also unmoving on the bed, his eyes fixed on the television in front of the bed. The corners of his mouth twitched painfully. 

Dick turned to the figure. "Nothing's changed?" He asked in a small voice. _Am I really useless? Can I really do nothing?_

"With Tim, no. But he was not the only person affected." She walked back out the door and as Dick followed her, they entered another room.

"The Cave," Dick recognized. The figure only nodded as they walked down the steps. Entering the main part of the Cave, Dick saw Bruce Wayne sitting at the massive computer. That was the first thing that shocked him. "But Bruce never comes down here out of costume."

The figure cocked her head to him. "Things change."

Dick looked closer and saw that Bruce didn't even look like himself anymore. He was, Dick suspected, thirty pounds underweight, as if he hadn't eaten in months. His face was gaunt and large bags encircled his eyes. 

"Lost them both," Bruce muttered to himself, looking at some pictures on the desk. "Lost them all."

"What does he mean?" Dick asked the figure, craning to look at the pictures.

She touched his shoulder and began walking again. "Another stop first." 

She turned the corner and Dick followed, now finding himself in another place all together. He looked around, trying to place the setting, as he followed the figure into a room. 

His jaw went taught, holding back tears as he saw Barbara Gordon. She was in a wheelchair, sitting at her desk. She too looked thinner, unkempt.

"The Joker still got to her?"

The figure nodded sadly as someone walked in behind them. Dick recognized the woman as Barbara's friend Lana. Barbara looked up from her desk.

"Lana… what are you doing here?"

Lana sat down on the bed next to the desk. "Abusing the privileges of having a key to your apartment."

"I'm trying to get work done…" Barbara said feebly as she turned back to her desk. 

"Nuh-uh. Not gonna work, Babs."

Barbara's head flipped to face Lana. "_Don't_ call me Babs. You know no one is allowed to call me that."

Lana backed off a little. "I know. I'm sorry. Barbara… we have to get you out of this apartment, though. You haven't left for weeks… well, other than to visit the cemetery. That's just not healthy. You need to move on, Barbara. You got shot, you can't walk, you lost someone important… but you're still alive."

Barbara sat, quiet, and then turned her head back to her desk. "I think it's time for you to go now," she said quietly.

Lana nodded. "Yeah… that's what I figured you'd say," she commented as she rose and left the room.

As soon as she left, Barbara broke down and started crying. 

Dick turned to the figure. "What happened to her? Who died? Did her dad die?"

The figure turned and walked out of the room, leading Dick once more into the Batcave. She pointed at the cases that held his own, Jason Todd and Tim Drake's Robin costumes, as well as Barbara's Batgirl costume. "There's a new addition… look for yourself," she told him.

As he walked over to the cases, he saw a fourth case. In the fifth case was a new costume. His Nightwing costume. He held his breath as he walked closely up to the glass and looked it over. There he saw, despite the careful stitching, the three bullet holes that scarred the breastplate. Shaking, he turned to the figure. "It was me, wasn't it? That's who Barbara lost, isn't it?"

The figure simply nodded.

"What happened?"

The figure stepped past him and looked at the costume as she told the story. "You were there. You went with Batman and Batgirl when they discovered where the Joker was holding Tim. As Tim held the gun out to shoot Batman, you jumped in the way. You saved Bruce's life… by sacrificing your own. However, neither Tim nor Bruce has been able to forgive themselves for that day, and Barbara has not forgiven them, either."

While the figure had been telling her story, Dick had walked over the where Bruce was sitting to look at the pictures. There was a crime scene photo of Dick's body, a school picture of Dick from ninth grade and a picture of Barbara, presumably before the Joker shot her, kneeling at Dick's grave. Dick stared at these photos as the figure came up behind him. "You do not like this outcome?"

He turned on her, and found himself standing back in the hospital room. "No! Of course not! I'm dead, and everyone I care about is miserable. I don't like that outcome at all."

She nodded. "Chose another. Change another path then, go back farther."

He thought. "What if I had never left Gotham? If I had never become Nightwing?"

"You think things would change?"

He nodded. "Yeah…. They'd have to."

"Very well." She said with a nod and he blinked.


	3. 2: Changes In Attitude

Chapter 2: "Changes in Attitude"

Chapter 2: "Changes in Attitude"

When Dick opened his eyes, he was standing in front of the grandfather clock in Wayne Manor. "Okay…" he said and moved the hands to the certain time that would open the secret passage to the Batcave. 

But nothing happened.

"What in the…?" he muttered as he tried again, still to no avail. 

"It doesn't work anymore," the figure informed him. "It's been shut off to Bruce Wayne."

He stopped trying to get in. "By who? Who would do that?"

"The _new_ Batman," she said as she walked through a doorway. When Dick followed, he entered what looked like a hotel room. 

"What's this?" he asked. "Where are we?"

"France, I believe," she said, stepping out onto the terrace to look at the view. 

"And why are we in France?" he asked as the door to the hotel room opened. The figure turned around to see who it was, and nodded.

"Right on time. That's why."

Dick looked to the door and saw three people enter the room: Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne… followed by Barbara Gordon. She was holding Bruce's hand, and he noticed a ring on her finger. Dick's jaw dropped. "What? B-But … _how_? And Alfred? I thought he quit a while ago."

"Shall I place your bags in the living area, Miss Barbara?" Alfred asked the young woman. 

She nodded. "Sure, Alfred."

As Alfred walked into the other room with the packages, the figure turned to Dick. "Alfred never had the chance to quit. In this scenario, by the time Alfred would have become fed up with Bruce-slash-Batman, the new Batman had taken over and hence Alfred had no reason to quit."

"What about Jason? And Tim?"

"Jason Todd went to college and became a lawyer, and Tim Drake is a junior in high school. President of his class. Last week, he was voted Prom King."

Dick saw Bruce take Barbara's other hand and kiss her quickly.

"So where do you want to eat tonight?" Bruce asked her as he held her.

She smiled. "I picked lunch… you pick."

He shook his head. "No… I don't have a preference tonight."

She thought. "Well… I know you've probably had enough of the 'Isn't-that-Bruce-Wayne?' looks today, so how does room service on the terrace sound?"

Bruce smiled. "You know me better than I know myself. I'm lucky to have you," he said to her as he kissed her again. 

Dick narrowed his eyes at this. "What about Barbara? She's walking… and is that… is that a… wedding ring?" Dick asked haltingly. 

"Barbara is walking because the new Batman… disposed of the Joker before he would have shot her. Some people say that Batman _killed_ the Joker, but there's no real proof of it. However, that's what caused Barbara to stop working with the new Batman. She didn't like the violence he was using. And yes… that _is_ a wedding ring. This is their honeymoon, in fact. Mrs. Barbara Gordon-Wayne."

"So everything's just hunky-dory in her life, isn't it? Everyone's just so much better now," Dick spat out bitterly.

The figure shook her head. "Not exactly. See, when Bruce just said that he was lucky to have her… he wasn't exaggerating. Since the new Batman took over, Barbara's been keeping Bruce sane… grounded. He gets very depressed now, feeling like he has no purpose in life anymore. He's even started taking anti-depressant medication, which you know is something he would never have done before. And while she has basically been taking care of him, he fell in love with her. She didn't want to hurt him, or send him into another depression, so she agreed to marry him. It's not a marriage of love… although she does love him… she always has, even in real life, but that love is more as a brother, a protector, a close friend. She's only doing this for him."

"But what about us?!" Dick shouted. "I always thought we broke up because I left town. Why did she chose him over me?"

The figure paused. "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

"Figured what out?" Dick asked, pained.

The figure shook her head and walked, taking him into the Batcave. "Look," she said pointing at the chair in which Batman was sitting. "Take a good long look at the person who drove everything apart."

Dick walked over, staring at this new Batman sitting there in full cape and cowl, typing at the computer. After a moment, the Batman let out a disgruntled sigh and took the cowl off. Dick was almost sick at what he saw.

Sitting there in the chair… the new Batman… the one who had locked Bruce Wayne out of the Cave… the one who had driven Barbara away from fighting… the one who had killed the Joker… he saw this new Batman's face and recognized it at once.

"It's…. _me_."

The figure nodded sadly.

"I did all that? How?" he asked in a small voice. "What happened to me?"

"You didn't become Nightwing or leave town, but the rift between you and Batman still grew. It grew ever larger until you finally forced him out, taking over the mantle of the bat for yourself. Barbara stayed with you for a while, but you inherited Bruce's obsession along with the job. She was unhappy the entire time, and when you killed the Joker, that was the last straw for her. She left you to spend more time with Bruce, taking care of him. And now you sit here, locked in the cave day and night. You live here now. You have no life other than this." She walked away from him. "And you always said you were nothing like Bruce."

"I don't like this!" he yelled, running after her. 

She turned back to him. "Why not? Alfred still has a job, Jason and Tim are both still alive and well and normal people. Bruce is actually married to someone who cares for him and Barbara has the easy life ahead of her. What's wrong with it?"

"I'm not happy," he said softly, and hung his head.

"Then make another choice," she said.

He raised his head and was back in the hospital room again. He thought carefully. "What if… what if I had never become Robin? What if I had been taken in by Bruce and just never discovered the cave… never took on the cape?"

"You think this would make you happy?"

He nodded. "Maybe."

"Then let's see."


	4. 3: Without Wonder

Chapter 3: "Without Wonder"

Chapter 3: "Without Wonder"

When Dick opened his eyes this time, he was surprised that they had not arrived at Wayne Manor yet again. Instead, he recognized this house as the next door neighbor to the Manor. This house was the one owned by Jack Drake. "Well, what are we doing here?" Dick asked the figure as she walked past him up the stairs.

"Paying a visit to a friend."

The walked into a room and Dick saw the room of a normal, seventeen year old boy. Tim Drake sat at his computer desk, talking on the phone. "Yeah… of course we're still on. I'll pick you up tonight at seven thirty… No, I'm _not_ telling you where I'm taking you. It's our six month anniversary. I'm surprising you. Okay, hun. I'll see you then." He hung up the phone as Dick stared at him, awed. 

"So this is what Tim could have been?" Dick asked, looking at the young man. He was athletic, as Dick could tell not only by his build, but by the trophies and plaques lining the walls. He had grown into his face, which had become lean and sculptured. Pictures on his desk showed that he was involved in everything: three different sports, student government, volunteer work, all around popular, good natured kid.

The figure nodded. "Yes… you never became Batman's partner, so when Tim figured out Batman's secret identity was the thought of Tim being Batman's partner didn't occur in either of their minds. So he got to live out the life of a normal, teenage boy."

The figure began to walk away, but Dick couldn't take his eyes off of Tim. "So… if I hadn't of discovered the cave all those years ago, then Tim never would have been Robin?"

She stopped and shook her head. "Neither would have Jason Todd."

"And the whole Joker thing… when he was kidnapped… never would have happened?"

She continued shaking her head. "No… he was never Robin, so Joker never targeted him."

Dick laughed bitterly. "Are Bruce and Barbara married here, too?"

"No… not at all," the figure said sadly as she continued walking.

As they walked through the door, Dick looked around at his surroundings. "Yep… it all comes back to here, doesn't it?" he asked, looking around the Batcave once more. 

The figure walked toward the computer where Batman sat, furiously typing keys. He was focusing intently on the computer screen."He's been sitting here for days," the figure commented, as she picked up a newspaper from the desk and browsed the front page.

"Why? Why hasn't he been out fighting?"

She handed the paper to Dick. On the front page he saw a picture of Batman, standing over a dead body, and the headline "WANTED. Batman terrorizes city."

She figure explained as he digested the words on the paper. "You grew up here, yet you never found the cave. Once you went off to college, started your own life, and Alfred left, he had no one to keep him grounded… no one to balance him out. After a while, he went over the edge and he crossed the line… he killed. So now, he's the hunted. He only goes out when he absolutely has to."

Dick stared at Bruce for a long moment, before turning to the figure. "Barbara… Where's she?"

The figure stood, silent and still, for a moment before speaking. "You can stop here… if you believe you've seen enough."

He walked to her. "NO. I want to see where Barbara is."

She nodded. "Very well," she said as she passed through the door. 

When they passed through the door, the first thing Dick saw was the sunlight. Bright and clear, not a cloud in the sky. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around and saw where he was.

"Why are we in a cemetery?" he asked, nervous.

"This is where Barbara is," the figure replied, walking toward a tree.

"Why? Because her father died, right? She's visiting her father's grave, right? Please tell me that she's visiting a grave," Dick pleaded as the figure stopped at a patch of tombstones underneath a tree. Dick saw the tombstone from the corner of his eye, but he refused to look at it, merely grabbing onto the figure's shoulders, until she nodded sadly. He nodded back and crouched down slowly, reading the tombstone.

Beloved Daughter, Wife

Friend and Mother.

Barbara Gordon-Grayson

1970 – 1998

Dick felt the words, trying to prove to himself that they weren't real. "She… we were… we married?" he asked, slightly sobbing. 

"And had children. Two," the figure said, standing behind two other tombstones in the patch. Dick looked at those through the tears, and saw the inscriptions on them. 

Jonathan James Grayson Mary Elizabeth Grayson

1995 – 19981993 – 1998

Dick let out a loud sob as he touched the names of the children he never got to have. After he regained composure of himself, he looked up at the figure. "What happened?"

She knealt down to him. "The Joker. Nothing changed with that. His vendetta against the Gordon family still existed. While the family was out walking in Gotham Central Park one day, he shot her… and shot the children too. They all died instantly."

Dick thought a moment. "You said 'the family was out walking.' Was I there?"

The figure halted a moment before nodding. "Yes… you were."

Dick swallowed. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," she said simply. "You froze and did nothing, other than hold your wife as you waited for the paramedics. There was nothing else you could do then."

He stood up to tower above the figure. "Why didn't I do anything before? Why didn't I stop the Joker?"

She stood up to face him. "You were only human," she said, almost pleading with him. "You didn't know how to fight like Robin. You didn't know what to do in a situation like that. You were in shock and you froze."

He shook his head. "How could I live with myself? How could I live after that?"

The figure turned silently and walked to the fourth tombstone in the patch. Dick saw this and followed her. Looking at the last tombstone, he clenched his jaw.

Richard John Grayson

1969 – 1999

At last, with his 

Beloved

"The life alone… the pain… the guilt… without even Bruce you had no one. Three months after your family was buried, you shot yourself in your bedroom. Alfred came to the funeral, as did Comissioner Gordon. Bruce did not," the figure informed him mechanically and unemotionally.

Dick shook his head. "No… it doesn't go this way. It can't. I want to see something else."

"Haven't you had enough?" The figure yelled at him. 

"No," he replied. "Show me more. Show me what would have happened if I had never gone to Bruce's. If he had never taken me as his ward."

The figure exhaled heavily and sighed. "Fine."


	5. 4: Family Ties

Chapter 4: "Family Ties"

Chapter 4: "Family Ties"

Dick waited there for the figure to move, but she didn't make any motion at all. "Well…," he said to her impatiently. "Aren't you going to _do_ something? Aren't you going to find a door and walk through it and take me into the next life scenario?"

"We're here already," she said, walking away from him. 

He almost laughed as he followed her. "What? Don't we have to go pay a visit to Bruce in the Cave first?"

The figure simply walked more, stopping in front of a large vault. "Here you go…" she offered him. Seeing the expression on his face, she added, "Or do you want to stop this now?"

"No," he spat at her. "I can handle this." He walked through the entrance and went to the newest looking stone coffin, looking at the inscription.

Bruce Wayne

1950 – 1990

Rest Now

"How did he die?" Dick asked softly.

"He died as Batman. Alfred left him even sooner in this world, because he became driven with his work even faster. He had nothing to hold him down to the real world at all. Not you… not Barbara… and eventually, not even Alfred. He started becoming careless, almost as if he had a wish, deep down within… a secret desire for one of the criminals he fought to kill him. And one of them did."

Dick looked at her. "Joker?"

She shook her head. "No. Just a common, run of the mill criminal. No one extraordinary. Come," she said, walking out of the vault.

Dick followed her back to the trees. "Well," he asked. "What do I see next? Where to?"

"Right back here," she said, motioning to the same tombstone he had cried at before. 

"Not again," he muttered as he bent down to see the grave.

Barbara Gordon

1970 – 1994

In Loving Memory

Of What Might 

Have Been

"'Gordon,'" he repeated, reading the inscription. "The Joker again?" he asked.

"No," she said, knealing down next to him. "The Joker never got a chance at her in this world."

"Then what happened?" he asked, trying to mask his pain.

The figure stood up and started walking across the graveyard as she told the story. "Barbara Gordon grew up happy and normal. She went to Gotham City University where, like in your world, she met Jason Bard. They fell in love and were engaged to be married. Unfortunately, Barbara was in the wrong place at the wrong time." The figure entered the funeral home door and now they were walking along the corriders of Blackgate Prison. "She was in the supermarket one night, buying last ingredients for a dinner she was making for Jason, when a young man entered the store. This young man was very troubled. He was bullied by almost every set of foster parents he had been through and had run away on the rest of them. And he blamed Barbara's father for this. So, when he entered the supermarket, originally intending on robbing it, and saw her instead, the young man got his revenge for his rotten childhood. This you man…" she said, stopping at a cell, "is you."

Dick looked into the cell and saw himself sitting there on the bed. The face, albeit scarred, was unmistakeable. "I…. I killed Barbara?" he asked, choking the words.

The figure nodded. 

"How? How did I become that?" he asked in anguish.

"Bruce didn't take you in as his ward, so Commissioner Gordon, having no other option, turned you over to the state after your parents' death. You were bounced in and out of foster home after foster home. Most of your foster fathers beat you. You ended up running away and living on the streets, but you always remembered that it was Commissioner James Gordon who was the reason he was beaten all throughout your childhood. You never lived the easy life, never went to society balls, never met and fell in love with Barbara… but you knew that she was the Commissioner's daughter. And you shot her. Now you sit on death row for it." The figure walked past him, heading out of the prison block. "Time to go back."

"No." he protested, standing still. "There's one you haven't shown me yet."

She turned to him. "What's that?"

He turned to her. "Show me what life would have been like if I had never been born."

She exhaled and shook her head. "I can only show you the consequences of your choices. Being born was not your choice."

He walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "You can show me… I know you can. Barbara made me watch _It's A Wonderful Life_ twenty times and I know you can show me that."

She pushed him off of her and threw him down on the ground. "Fine!" she spat. "If you think that will make everything better, I'll show you that. But remember, you're the one that wished for it."


	6. 5: Stand By Your Man

Chapter 5: "Stand By Your Man"

Chapter 5: "Stand By Your Man"

The figure exited Blackgate in a hurry, followed close behind by Dick Grayson. He saw that where he ended up was a small apartment, made very cozy by the decoration. Dick looked around as the figure stood still, watching him.

"This is Barbara's. She decorated this… I would know her style anywhere. She's still alive," Dick said happily.

"Yes," the figured agreed. "She _is_ alive."

Dick walked over to the wall and looked at the pictures hanging there. Engagement pictures… wedding pictures… baby pictures. "Bard… she married Bard." He walked over to the figure. "Not my favorite guy in the world, but she looks happy."

"Yes, she does, doesn't she?" she figured said sadly as she turned away. As she walked toward the corner, Barbara Bard entered from one of the bedrooms, talking on the phone. Her long, red hair was draped over one side of her face, and she tidied up the already neat room as she conversed. 

"I can't talk much longer, Lana. Jason will be home soon and I haven't even started dinner yet." She paused as Lana talked. "Yes… I know, Lana. I… I'll try. I'll ask Jason about it, but I really don't think I have the time. And he likes me to stay home and watch the kids. We've both agreed that it's better for them if they grow up with a mother around all the time. Listen, Lana… I think I saw his car pulling into the street. I've got to go. I'll talk to you later, Lana." She clicked the end button and ran into the bedroom to put the phone back on the hook as Jason Bard entered his home. 

"Babs?" he called. "Babs, honey, where are you?" 

Barbara smoothed her hair and dress as she entered from the bedroom. "Jason, honey," she said as she gave him a kiss.

"That's my girl," he said, patting her on the head as he passed, taking off his coat and setting his briefcase down. "So, what do I have for dinner tonight?"

She walked over, frowning for a second, but covering it up with a smile. "Well… it was Teriyaki Chicken, but… I don't know… something happened and it burned. I had to start all over again, so it won't be ready now for at least…"

Jason stepped to her. "You know I like dinner right when I come home, right, honey?" he asked her, somewhat menacingly, Dick thought.

She nodded. "Yes, dear, but it burned… there was nothing I could do."

"You could have done it right the first time," he muttered as he walked to the couch and sat down.

"Yes," she said as she looked down. "Yes, I could have."

Dick turned to the figure, who sat in the corner. "I don't understand… the guy always seemed so nice. And why does she let him talk to her like that?"

"Just wait," the figure said, still staring at the married couple. 

Barbara Bard sat down next to her husband and turned to him. "But before dinner, I have something to ask you. Well, see, Lana and I were talking today…"

"Lana?" Jason interrupted. "The one with the funny hair?"

Barbara smiled slightly. "Yes, I guess… the one with the funny hair. Well, her husband works for the police department, and apparently, since Dad's retired, a lot of the officers have been following suite and moving to other divisions, other precincts. There are some nice job openings in desk work, at least, he said, and since I already have all the training…"

"Barbara… didn't we already discuss this?" Jason asked, frowning. 

"Well, yes… but the children are growing up so fast. Jason Junior is already nine. I was thinking that I could go out and start…"

"We decided that the best place for you would be in the home, taking care of the children, remember?" Jason asked her, standing up.

"Well, yes but…" she started.

"But what?" Jason asked in a booming voice.

As Barbara looked up at him, the hair fell away from her face and Dick saw that the entire right side was different shades of bruised. Her cheek and jaw were a brownish yellow, while her lip was red and puffy. Around her eye were solid black and purple welts. They were the kind of bruises a fight made. 

"But Jason…" she started feebly.

"But **nothing**," he yelled as he grabbed her by her shoulders, yanking her off the couch. "Your place is _here_! Do you understand that? Do you?" he asked as he raised a hand and backhanded her across her left cheek. She fell to the ground, hitting the coffee table in the process, as Jason continued shouting at her.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!" Dick yelled over Jason's shouts, as he covered his ears and closed his eyes, stumbling over to the figure in the corner. "NOO! I don't want to see anymore! I'm done with it!!!"


	7. Epilogue: Choices/The Wonderful Life

Epilogue: Choices/The Wonderful Life

Epilogue: Choices/The Wonderful Life

Dick was still screaming as he opened his eyes and found himself back in his hospital room. The figure was standing next to him as he collapsed onto the floor. 

"Are you satisified with what you have seen?"

"No," he growled, looking up at her. "What? Is this supposed to make me value my life? Because it hasn't. You showed me nothing. Some people would have been better off if I had never existed at all, and some would have put their lives to shit. So what does that tell me? Nothing. I can do nothing!" he yelled at her, storming past her.

"I didn't come here to show you a fantasy world where everyone would have suffered without you," she said harshly. "I came here to show you the effects of your choices… and let _you_ make the decision as to whether your life was worthy or not. And I wasn't the one doubting it in the first place… _you were_."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" he asked, wheeling on her. 

"You give up… you die. Or you continue the fight. The choice is yours."

"Choices… choices…" he scoffed. "Well from what you've shown me… when have I made any good choices?"

"It's not the choices you _have _made," the figure explained, softening. "It's the choices you _could _make. Everyone strays down the wrong path at some point in their life. The true winners are the ones who backtrack, and find the way back to the right one."

He looked up at her for a moment. "You're one hell of a guardian angel, can I tell you that? Only I would have a guardian angel that has to kick my ass to get through to me."

She smiled through the veil. "I'm flattered, even though I'm not your guardian angel."

"Who _are _you, then?"

"Let's just say…," she started as she eased him over to the bed, laying him down on top of his own body, "that you're a very important person to me… you're part of me in some ways. And it benefits me to make sure that you make the right choices."

He nodded. "This is the right choice," he said as he laid down on the hospital bed, watching the figure take a seat beside him, and hold his hand in hers. "This is right."

As he closed his eyes, he noticed that he recognized the figure. _That face… I know that face…_, he thought as he slowly drifted back to reality.

When Dick Grayson opened his eyes, he was once again blinded by a bright light, but through the bright light, he saw a woman sitting next to him. She was holding his hand. _No, _he thought. _I'm still here. I've actually died this time. I can't go back and fix things._

When he opened his eyes, he heard the woman that was holding his hand gasp tearfully. "Oh my god…" she said softly. As she touched his face, his vision adjusted and he saw her face clearly.

"Barbara?" he said in a horse voice.

Tears streamed down her face as she nodded. "Yes… oh my god." She pressed her face close to his and he could feel the hot wetness of her tears. "Oh my god… Dick… I thought you were never coming back to me… I thought I had lost you forever."

"How?" he asked, swallowing to try and wet his parched throat. "How long have you been here?"

She looked at him, holding his face in her hands. "As soon as I heard, I headed down here. You've been in a coma for two days. I was so worried…" she began sobbing as she said this. "So worried that you had left me… I know I shouldn't have given up on you when you left Gotham… I know that… I chose Gotham over you… I made the wrong choice. My god, I was so afraid I had lost you…"

His hands reached up to cover hers. "No… no Barbara, you never lost me… you found me."

THE END.

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